Headwear



Oct. 12, 1948. WITTCQFF 2,451,140

HEADWEAR Filed June 22, 1945 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Oct. 12, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Edward Wittcofi, University City, Mo assignor toQaradine Hat Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri App ica on June 22, 1945. er a No 609 355 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates in general to new and useful improvements in hadwfiar and, more particularly, to a sun helment. or topee having a unique type of head-engaging structure.

Sun helmets or topees are necessarily constructed with various types of head-engaging arrangements, all designed to support the helmet upon the head of the wearer in such a manner that the crown stands away from the head in more or less freely spaced relation thereto, thereby providing for a substantial degree of ventilation between the crown and the head of the wearer. In such structures, it has been heretofore necessary to provide various more or less complicated arrangements for adjusting to different head sizes and, as a result, sun helmets have been relatively expensive and, in many cases, actually uncomfortable when worn.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a sun helmet or topee having a new and improved head-engaging construction which is simple and economical and, at the same time, provides improved comfort and convenience for the wearer.

And with the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sun helmet embodying my present invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the sun helmet or topee embodying the present invention;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan View of a modified form of sun helmet constructed in accordance with and embodying my present invention; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing, which illustrates practical embodiments of the present invention, A designates a sun helmet consisting of a top or crown I having the usual oval-shaped head opening 0. Formed preferably integrally with the crown member I and extending outwardly from the head opening 0, is a relatively large brim 2, which is, in turn, provided at its outer margin with a downwardly curved flange 3.

Secured within the crown I just above and inside the head opening 0, is an elastic band 4 secured at its mid point by means of a tubular rivet 5 to the central portion of the fore part of the crown and extending outwardly in both directions at oblique angles to approximately the mid P n .1 the deposits sides o the crown and b in ther likewise secur d by tubula rive 5. thus o m n a na m l y V shamd es lien stru ture h n he. more :1.-

The helmet is warn wi h the rivet 5 to front and i p aced u on. the hea om wh in the manner own i Figure the conto r of the head being diagrammatically indicated at h by the dot-dash lines. The resilient band 4 will yield and engage the brow of the wearer for short arcuate portions in the region of the temples and pull the rear portion of the head opening 0 against the back portion of the head of the wearer, as at b.

It has been found in practice that this arrangement will hold the helmet A securely and snugly upon the head of the wearer and provide what may be termed three-point suspension, that is to say, the helmet A is actually in contact with the head of the wearer at three relatively narrow portions of the entire periphery of the head. Consequently, the helmet fits comfortably and, at the same time, adequate space is provided between the crown I and the head of the wearer to permit free circulation of air and maintain the head cool even in hottest weather. Furthermore, the tubular rivets 5, 6, 6, in addition to serving as securing elements, provide ventilation openings which add to the wearer's comfort.

If desired, a modified form of helmet A may be provided, which is similar in all respects to the previously described helmet A, except that an auxiliary head band 1 is provided comprising an arcuate leather strap secured at its opposite ends by tubular rivets 8, 8, to the crown and extending segmentally across the rear portion of the head opening 0 in forwardly spaced relation to the adjacent inside face portion of the crown I, all as best seen in Figures 3 and 4 The additional member I may be used where a somewhat larger crown shape or design is considered desirable and a correspondingly greater amount of space between the crown and head of the wearer is required for ventilation purposes.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the helmet may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. A helmet having a crown and brim joined to form a head opening substantially larger than 3 the normal head size of the wearer, an elastic band secured upon the inside face of the crown adjacent the head opening at its ends and at a point intermediate its ends so as to extend across the head opening in the shape of a V for engaging a portion of the head of the wearer and thereby holding the helmet in place,-and an auxiliary head-engaging member spacedfrom said elastic band and secured at its ends to the side walls of the crown and extending segmentally across the head opening thereof whereby to hold the hel-' met on the head of the wearer and with the crown spaced relative thereto.

2. A helmet having a crown and brim joined to form a head opening substantially larger than the normal head size of the wearer, an elastic 3. A helmet having a crown and brim joined to form a head opening substantially larger than the normal head size of the wearer, an elastic band secured upon the inside face of the crown adjacent the head opening at its ends and at a point intermediate its ends so as to extend across the head opening in the shape of a V for engaging the forward head portion of the wearer, and

a non-elastic flexible band secured chord-wise 7 across the rearward arcuate portiono'f the crown Y for engagement with the back center portion of the head of the wearer. c r EDWARD WIT'I'COFF;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 57,019 Warburton Aug. 7, 1866' v 2,117,764: Holmes May 17, 1938 2,250,275 a Riddell July 22, 1941 2,383,396 Lipton Aug 21, 1945 i I V .FOREIGN PATENTS t Number Country Date S Great Britain Dec. 24, 1924 

